Folding umbrella.



Patented July 29, 1913.

BY m V60 ATTORNEYS C. P. GARRINGTON &'T. & R. L. SUSEMIHL.

FOLDING UMBRELLA. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 20, 1912.

uoxnmm PLANOGRAPH co.,wAsmNGToN, n. n;

WlT/VESSES STES NT F @QE CHARLES P. CARRINGTON, THEODOR SUSEMIHL, ANDRICHARD L. SUSEMII-IL, OF NEIV YORK, N. Y.

FOLDING UMBRELLA.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that we, CHARLES P. CAR- niNGToN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, THEODOR SUSEMIHL, a subject of the lm` peror of Germany, andRICHARD L. SUSE- MIHL, a citizen of the United States, and residents ofthe city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings andState of New York, have invented a new and Improved Folding Umbrella, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The present invention relates to umbrellas and more particularly toso-called folding umbrellas, that is to say, umbrellas so constructedthat the sticks may be shortened for the purpose of shortening theumbrella so that it may be carried in a suit case.

The invention particularly relates to that type of folding umbrella inwhich the stick is formed of two members, a tubular outer member and ajointed inner member, the inner jointed member slidingly fitting withinthe tubular outer member so that it may be withdrawn to uncover thejoint, and turned back upon itself for shortening, and when pushed intothe tubular outer member, the joint will be covered and the stick heldin position for supporting the umbrella for use.

The particular obj ect in view is to provide a simple arrangement ofparts permitting the umbrella to be shortened by withdrawing the tip orferrule portion within the frame, and to provide means whereby therelative movement of the umbrella and stick which acts to withdraw thetip and ferrnle within the frame will automatically cause a release ofthe catch which holds the members of the stick in operative relation toeach other, thus permitting the jointed member of the stick to bewith-drawn to uncover the joint to permit the handle portion of thejointed inner member to be turned back for shortening.

Further objects of the invention will be disclosed in connection withthe following description of its construction, organization and mode ofoperation.

TvVith the foregoing objects in view, the present invention consists ofthe umbrella andthe devices and combinations of devices which will behereinafter particularly described an'd claimed.

Specification of Iietters Patent.

Application filed November 20, 1912.

Patented July 29, 1913. Serial No. 732,453.

The present invention is illustrated in the 'accol'npanying drawings, inwhichj Figure l shows in partial elevation and. partial sectional viewso much of an umbrella structure embodying the invent-ion las will serveto illustrate the same, a portion lof the ribs and braces being shown infull llines in the open position, and representing in dotted lines theposition of the ribs and braces and other parts when the umbrella isclosed, but before shortening; Fig. 2 shows also an elevation of thestick and other parts, showing the handle portion of the jointed innermember turned back upon itself in shortening and with the tip andferrule portion withdrawn into the frame, also illustrating in dottedlines the ribs and braces in folded or closed position; Fig. 3 shows anelevation and partial sectional view, somewhat enlarged, of the upperstick portion, illustrating the position of certain parts when theumbrella is open; and Fig. 4 is a detailed view of the sliding sleeveturned a quarter turn relatively to the same element yshown in Fig. 8.

The umbrella comprises a stick consist ing of two members, an outertubular member l, and an inner jointed member 2, the latter o-f whichmay also be formed tubular in cross section and the inner jointed memberof a diameter to closely fit the bore of the outer tubular member, butto slide freely therein. The outer tubular member carries at its upperend a tip and ferrule portion 3. The jointed inner member is formed oftwo sections connected by a link 4 by means of the rivets 5 and 6, andthe handle portion is preferably formed in two diameters, the part 7being of the diameter of the bore of `the tubular member l, and the partS being of a diameter corresponding to the external diameter of thetubular member l and carries any suitable grip or handle 9.

A sleeve l0 is fitted to the umbrella stick near its upper end, and isarranged to have a sliding movement thereon, and is held thereto bymeans of a pin or stud ll which. takes into a spiral slot l2 formed inthe sleeve 10. The pin and slot permit the sleeve l0 to slide along thestick, but prevents it from sliding off of the stick, the slidingmovement being limited by the length of the slot 12, and by reason ofthe shape ot the slot 12, the sleeve 10 as it moves along the stick willhave imparted thereto a partial turning movement with relation to thestick for a purpose which will be hereinafter set forth. The sleeve 10carries a notch 13 o1'l the usual iorm, and the ribs 14 are pivotallyconnected to the notch 13 in any usual or convenient manner. For thepurpose ot holding the sleeve 10 to the umbrella stick with the t-ip andferrule portion 3 projecting from the upper end thereof, there isprovided a suitable catch 15 which is attached to the tubular outermember 1 ot the stick and is arranged to project through a slot 1G cutin the upper end ot thesleeve 10 immediately adjacent and beneath thenotch 13, as shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawing, and it isintended that the closing ot the umbrella shall automatically releasethe sleeve 10 from its retaining catch 15 by the folding of the ribs tothe dotted line position shown in Fig. 1, and for this purpose, the slot16 in the wall of the sleeve 10 is immediately below the pivotalconnection 17 ot one ot the ribs 14 so that said rib when brought intothe dotted line position will engage and depress the retaining catch 15,thus releasing the sleeve 10 or depressing the catch sutliciently sothat its beveled outer edge 18 will permit the sleeve 1() to pass overthe same. In the event that the ribs 14; are of the usual grooved orchanneled construction that one which is intended to operate the catch15 will be pro-vided with a filling block 19 positioned to engage theouter edge ot the catch 15.

The ribs 141 are supported by braces 2O which are pivotally connectedthereto in the usual manner as shown in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2,and are also pivotally connected at their lower ends to a notch 21 whichis carried by a runner 22, the arrangement being such that the slidingof the runner 22 along the stick operates to raise or lower the ribs 14kaccording as the runner is moved up or down along the stick of theumbrella. When moved up toward the sleeve 10, the runner is adapted tobe engaged by a spring catch 23 which is connected at its lower end 24to the upper portion ot the jointed inner member et the stick as shownclearly in F ig. 3 of the drawing, and projects through a slot 25 formedin said upper portion ot the jointed inner member of the stick, and alsothrough a slot 2G formed in the tubular outer member of the stick, andit is Jformed with an outer curved edge 27 which permits the runner topass over and depress it Vwhen moved upward, and which will spring outin the position shown in Fig. 3 to engage the lower end of the runner tohold it in it-s elevated position, as shown clearly in Fig. 3.

The inner jointed member 2 is provided with a spring catch 28 whichpasses through an opening 2S) in the inner member 2 and engages a slot30 in the tubular outer member 1, so that the inner jointed member andthe tubular member of the stick are held in locking engagement with eachother, with the tubular member covering the joint in the jointed member.The head of the catch 28 projects a relatively slight distance beyondthe surface of the tubular member 1, and is rounded as shown at 31,*so'that a light inward depression of the catch 28 places it in .such aposition that a pull 'on' the jointed inner member to draw it from thetubular member causes the head of the catch 28 to be still furthercompressed so inner member releases it from the tubular 9 outer memberand permits it to be withdrawn to uncover the joint.

In the normal operation ot' the umbrella, it is intended that the runner22 may pass freely over the catch 28 without aitecting it, and for thispurpose, the runner is provided with a longitudinal slot 32 and a groove33 (see Fig. 1). Normally, the sleeve 10 and runner 22 are so positionedthat the Slot 32 passes over the catch 28, but the turning movement ofthese parts brings an unslotted portion of the runner over the catch 28as hereinafter described. The upper end of the runner is preferablyformed flaring, as shown at 34, so that it may more readily engage anddepress the catch In order to limit the movement of the jointed innermember with relation to the tubular outer member, the jointed innermember will be provided with a stud or pin 35 which engages the slot 30.This pin acts as a guide to retain the outer tubular inem-` ber andjointed inner member in a lcoupled position and to prevent a relativerotation of these parts, and at the same time limits the movement of thejointed inner member in and out of the tubular outer member. The part 8of the handle portion Vof thc jointed inner member will be provided witha suitable retaining` catch 36 to engage the runner as shown in dottedlines in Fig. 1 in order to hold the umbrella closed, which catch may beof any usual or preferred construction. The sleeve 10 at or near itslower end will be provided with a slot 37 adapted to receive the catch15, and which slot has a relative angular position of 900, or a quarterturn from the slot 1G, so that when the sleeve 10 is moved upward alongthe stick to the position shown in Fig. 2, and turned by the spiral slotand stud connection, it places the slot 37 in position to permit thecatch l5 to spring therethrough. In this position,the catch prevents therelative turning of the sleeve 10 and stick and relieves the umbrellastructure from any torsional strains which might be brought upon theribs and braces were the sleeve 10 permitted to turn relatively to therunner 22.

Y In operation, with the parts in the position shown in Fig. 1, thestick is held rigid and the sleeve 10 locked thereto by the catch 15,and the runner 22 is free to move along the stick to be engaged with thecatch 23 to hold the braces and ribs in an extended position, or to bedrawn backward as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 and engaged with thecatch 36, all in the manner common to the usual umbrella structures.lhen it is desired to shorten the umbrella, the folded ribs are graspedtightly near their upper jointed ends, and this causes the rib 16 todepress the catch 15, thus releasing the sleeve. At the same time thecatch 36 is depressed to release the runner A pull now being eX- ertedupon the handle portion and the umbrella structure in oppositedirections,causes the sleeve 10 and the runner to move upwardly towardthe tip and ferrule portion of the stick,which is thereby withdrawn intothe sleeve 10, and this relative longitudinal movement imparts to thesleeve 10 and the runner 22 a quarter turn as hereinbefore described,and brings an unslotted portion of the runner over the catch 28,depressing it so that when the sleeve 10 has reached the limit of itsmovement, the runner 22 depressing the catch 28 permits a further pullon the handle 9 to withdraw the jointed inner member of the stick fromthe tubular outer member to an extent sufficient to uncover the jointtherein, after which it may be turned back to the position shown in Fig.2. Thus the umbrella is shortened at both ends, and reduces in length tosubstantially the length of the ribs.

Having described our invention, we claim as new and desire to protect byLetters Pat-- ent of the United States:

l. In an umbrella, in combination, a stick, a sleeve slidingly mountedthereon, a notch carried by said sleeve, a runner slidingly mounted onsaid stick, a notch carried by said runner, ribs and braces pivotallyconnected respectively to the notch on the sleeve and the notch on therunner and also pivotally connected together, a spring catch mounted onthe stick and engaging the sliding sleeve, said catch arranged to bedepressed to release the sleeve by the closing of the umbrella wherebyto permit the sleeve, and runner and said stick to move longitudinallyrelatively to each other.

2. In an umbrella, in combination, a stick, a sleeve slidingly mountedthereon, a notch carried by said sleeve, a runner slidingly mounted onsaid stick, a notch carried by said runner, ribs and braces pivotallyconnected respectively to the notch on the sleeve and the notch on therunner and also pivotally connected together, a spring catch mounted onthe stick and engaging the sliding sleeve, said catch arranged to bedepressed to release the sleeve by the closing of the umbrella wherebyto permit the sleeve, and runner and said stick to move longitudinallyrelatively to each other, and means for turning t-he sleeve and stickrelatively to each other during the relative longitudinal movements.

3. In an umbrella, in combination, a stick, a sleeve slidingly mountedthereon, a notch carried by said sleeve, a runner slidingly mounted onsaid stick, a notch carried by said runner, ribs and braces pivotallyconnected respectively to the notch on the sleeve and the notch on therunner and also pivotally connected together, a spring catch mounted onthe stick and engaging the sliding sleeve, said catch arranged to bedepressed to release the sleeve by the closing of the umbrella wherebyto permit the sleeve, and runner and said stick to move longitudinallyrelatively to each other, said sleeve provided with a spiral slotengaging a pin carried by said stick whereby to cause said sleeve toturn as it is moved longitudinally of the stick.

4. In an umbrella,in combination, a stick comprising an outer tubularmember and a jointed inner member slidingly fitting the outer tubularmember, a latch for locking the members together with the joint of theinner member within the tubular member,

a sleeve and runner mounted upon the stick and to slide thereon, ribsand braces pivotally connected to the sleeve and runner respectively andto each other, means to det-achably connect the sleeve to the stick,

means for imparting a relative turning 1 movement to the sleeve andrunner stick as the sleeve is moved along the stick, and means forreleasing the catch which holds the members of the stick together whenthe sleeve and runner are simultaneously moved in one direction alongsaid stick whereby to permit the jointed inner member of the stick to bewithdrawn from the tubular member.

5. In an umbrella, in combination, a stick comprising an outer tubularmember and a jointed inner member slidingly fitting the outer tubularmember, a catch for locking the members together with the joint of theinner member within the tubular member,

a Sleeve and runner mounted upon the stick n testimony whereof We havesigned our and to slide thereon, means perImt-tmg an names to thisspeeieatlon 1n the presence of independent longitudinal movement of thetwo subscribing Witnesses.

runner along the stick without actin@l u on 5 the catch which locks themembers Uof 1the 'UCNLGTON' stick together, and means whereby when theRICHARD L SUSEMIH'L sleeve and runner are moved simultaneously along thestick in one direction, the runner Vitnesses: releases the catch holdingthe members of A. H. DAVIS,

l0 the stiel: together. PHILIP D. ROLLHAUS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissionery of Patents, Washington, D. C.

